I'm gonna get skewered for this, but...

[The Radish]

I think you girls need someone to wake you up because you are dreaming!

what a crock and a foolish conspirisy theory.

If we now lose to the Giants which surely is a possibility even if the are terrible this year, I doubt they have any problem getting up for us. Then we would HAVE to win the final 2 games of the year to get #1 seed.

Can any of you just understand the ninnirs played a great game against our offense? Our offense did not excutute very well and it cost us.

If our defense had stayed home the entire game instead of running around like a bunch of high school kids we might have shut them out.

WE DIDN'T PERFORM, THE NINNIRS DID!

Its that simple.

Play less than 100%,,,,,,what a crock!!

:141847_bnono:

 

[RiverDog]

Sand bagging? Not a chance...However, I do think it plausible that we didn't want to expose our entire playbook, especially to a team that we may end up seeing again in the playoffs.

That last sentence is the definition of sandbagging. From Merriam-Webster.com; Sandbagging: to hide the truth about oneself so as to gain an advantage over another.
I personally think they sandbagged. The full playbook was definitely not open on either offense or defense. My buddies were talking about them possibly doing that even before the game. Good chance we'll be seeing the 49ers in the playoffs.

That's not what I think of when I hear the term "sand bagging" being used.

 

[jblaze]

I don't think it was something conscious. But I also don't think they unloaded the playbook either knowing they could probably beat them without it and also they don't want to show everyone their whole playlist with HFA so likely.

Also I don't buy that they told RW to not run at all. The reads weren't there, they were spying him the entire game and trying to force Lynch back inside. They may have told him to be cautious due to not having TJack backing him up but he still could slide, etc.

Overall, they just went conservative and that's not an entirely bad philosophy on the road where you try to keep it close and win it in the 4th quarter.

Unfortunately with the Gore and Kap runs, we didn't get a chance. Certainly out of character for our defense but sometimes these things are good to "reset" their expectations and refocus them. I think this will be good in the long run.

 

[EntiatHawk]

We got beat and that is that. I do think RW was cautious with running but that is okay. We were just not as crisp as we have been, it does happen, even to the best teams. The Kaep first down was the killer, we stop that we get the ball back with a couple of minutes to play. But we didn't and we lost. Lick the wounds, carry the pain of the loss and now go punish the Giants for being the unfortunate next opponent.

 

[Mtjhoyas]

While I don't buy the idea that the game was meaningless or that they didn't want to win, I do think there is merit to the fact that this was an overly vanilla game, in which the Seahawks lacked passion (like I've never seen).

The thing that stuck out to me, was when Pete Carroll (yesterday) almost immediately mentioned the idea of "not having to play a meaningful game for a month if they won." Now, I am by NO MEANS saying they wanted/tried to lose, but I do find it interesting that this was one of the first things he mentioned, which I do think holds a lot of merit. And in Pete's defense, especially with a young team, I think this was a huge "dread" of mine, was this idea that you go a month without having the same edge/urgency to win games.

Pete and his staff are so in tune with Psychology, that I do think they understand that it's human nature to not challenge yourself to the max, IF you don't need to. Personalities like ET and RW are rare in the sense that they are so self motivated, that this really isn't an issue. That said, both guys looked a little off as well. So, I'd say even they aren't immune to this, despite being such Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell drop).

After a few days, I'm actually quite happy we lost. If we would have rolled through SF (and assuming that extends to the next 3 games); in order to win the Superb Owl, you'd be looking at a 14 game winning streak. That is a HUGE burden to bear and really quite hard to maintain that level of play for that long (3.5 months). Losing is never a good thing, but I think this is a hugely beneficial "reset" that will sober these fellas and give them a taste of disappointment that could be a huge boost heading into the playoffs. Go Hawks.

 

[themunn]

Sand bagging? Not a chance. It was a bigger game for us than it was the Niners

Stop this right now.
If the Niners lose that game they're 8-5, the same as the Cardinals, only one better than the Cowboys, Lions and Bears.
Next week they have a game against a Bucs team that has won 4 of it's last 5 and took Seattle to overtime just prior to that run. Then they finish out against the Cardinals in Arizona, who would have faced off against a Seattle team with absolutely nothing to play for in the previous match - I'm not saying Seattle would mail in that game, but we saw what happened in the Rams game last year when we had nothing to play for. It's hard to motivate when the biggest thing in the back of the mind of the players isn't winning, but not getting injured prior to the playoffs.

Not to mention of course the fact that SF had been destroyed in their last 2 games against Seattle, and also lost all of their other games against playoff-bound teams. They needed this one just to tell themselves they were good enough.

Not in a lifetime of Sundays would this game have been bigger for Seattle. We have MADE the playoffs, even if we lose out we're still there. If SF had lost, they'd need to have won out to guarantee it (dependant on the results of other teams), and almost certainly would have been playing for the 6th seed, whereas now, with Carolina still to face the Saints again, they have a good shot at the 5th seed, not the biggest difference in the world, but could be the difference

 

[KARAVARUS]

I think you girls need someone to wake you up because you are dreaming!

what a crock and a foolish conspirisy theory.

If we now lose to the Giants which surely is a possibility even if the are terrible this year, I doubt they have any problem getting up for us. Then we would HAVE to win the final 2 games of the year to get #1 seed.

Can any of you just understand the ninnirs played a great game against our offense? Our offense did not excutute very well and it cost us.

If our defense had stayed home the entire game instead of running around like a bunch of high school kids we might have shut them out.

WE DIDN'T PERFORM, THE NINNIRS DID!

Its that simple.

Play less than 100%,,,,,,what a crock!!

:141847_bnono:

I'm right there with you on this with one caveat. We came in with a game plan and we didn't deviate from that plan. We took that plan in saying this is it, it should be enough to get us the win--and it was. What wasn't in the plan was blowing the gaps on Gore's long run. Otherwise, perfect, conservative (not sandbagged) plan to get out with a W and no injuries to RW.

 

[longsh0t]

I heard about this with Saints fans and how they didn't want to show us any plays...blah blah blah. Maybe I'm missing somethign here but unless a team has some plays they've never used or are saving couldn't opposing teams just watch their films?

 

[jblaze]

I think something like this is only applicable if you've got a big lead for HFA like we did. I don't buy that the Saints would do something like that because they were trying to take hold of the NFC lead and also they had a few games vs. Carolina left which could have been losses.

We didn't pull out all the stops and they did, in their house, with a lot more on the line and we only lost by 2 in the last minute. Not a problem imo.

 

[13thMan]

I doubt they sandbagged it. But, it was clear they flat out told RW to not run the entire game. Probably worried about the headhunting.

Exactly. No reason to get the franchise hurt in a meaningless game.

Not trying to be combative here. But the game wasn't meaningless. If we won we would have wrapped up the NFC West. Now we risk the possibility of a wildcard spot. Granted, that is a VERY remote possibility, almost beyond belief, but that possibility is still there. We all know that in the NFL, any thing can happen any Sunday.

This. To think the Hawk gave anything less than their best effort against our biggest rival is laughable. On this day, SF was the better team, and that's it...

The number of conspiracy theories and justifications after a loss is simply embarrassing. Now on to NY...

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Sandbagging is for Softball and Darts.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

It's absolutely ridiculous to think that the Hawks were sandbagging it, not when we could have wrapped up the division and rubbed the Niners face in their own poo in their own house........all in one game. That's not how this team is wired.

This is the NFL, there are no easy games against good teams if you make mistakes. Especially on the road, against a rival, who's highly motivated.

We are a very good team, but if you guys think we're just going to roll over everybody all the way to SB, think twice.

 

[Vpk0718]

Are you kidding me? Didn't 49er fans make this same argument about their game in Seattle last season, and didn't this fanbase destroy and ridicule them for it? And now we're going to make the same argument? Give me a break.

We got beat. End of story. Even the best teams get beat sometimes.

 

[CANHawk]

Yeah, I don't buy the sandbagging argument at all. The only "yeahbut" to that is they more than likely suggested Russell not be quite so "Russell-like" in regard to making something out of nothing and exposing himself to possible injury. He seemed to be playing quite conservatively in that regard from what I saw... But that's no excuse why we lost.

They had our nember on Sunday, plain and simple. It sucks, but we're really no worse off for it (aside from the injuries to Max & KJ).

 

[HawksSoc]

Not gonna say I agree, not gonna say I disagree, just want to point out there's a thread in our NFL Nation forum roasting Saints fans for saying similar stuff about their loss to us.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=81497

 

[rsm650]

Remember how silly it sounded when 9ers fans said that their OC only opened up half his play book after last December's game?

Not gonna say I agree, not gonna say I disagree, just want to point out there's a thread in our NFL Nation forum roasting Saints fans for saying similar stuff about their loss to us.

http://www.seahawks.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=81497

And remember when we made a thread last week about how silly it sounded that the Saints were using that excuse on their forums?

Sorry, I think we just got plain beat, there is no excuse. Got to fix the stupid penalties, like running into a returner who calls a fair catch and the obvious holds.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

I think sandbaggin it was a poorchoice of words. The players didn't "sandbag" the game. However, I'd argue the coaches did.

Its the Seahawks way. In most games,they tend to let their opponents dictate the intensity, and then force their players to match them. Its why we always, always defer the kick-off when we when the coin toss.

It doesn't take a Rocket Sciencetist to notice this trend.

And I think what people were getting in this thread is the Seahawks seemed rather different than they had in their last 3 games. No one is saying the Seahawks threw the game because they didn't care.

But what I saw was a dumb down playbook, I'm talking 1st half 2012, very vanilla, very base, very safe... especiallly considering what we saw the week before vs the Saints. The multitude of formations and the plethora of player rotations.

It was obvious, Seahawks came into this game wanting to win it... however, it was also obvious they were playing rather tenative on offense... in fear and with fear of losing Wilson to cheapshots to an aggressive, physical team that was going to do everything in their power to knock the Seahawks off their pedastal.

And it would also make sense for Bevell to call the vanilla, dumbed down gameplan, really no need to give your best plays and film against an opponent we'll likely see in the Divisional Round or NFC CG.

In my opinion, Seahawks got San Fran's best game... and they barely beat us 17-19 in their own house and many of their scoring drives were extended through questionable Seahawks penalties rather through their own performance. And many Seahawks drives and momentum plays were killed by timely penalties.

On the flip-side, San Fran still got the Seahawks best effort, there is no denying that, but the strategy of it wasn't all-in.

 

[ceej22]

I don't think they were sandbagging it by any means. I think some of the guys under estimated the 9ers and on top of knowing it wasn't a must win game they made some costly mistakes. On the other hand 9ers knew this was their only hope at winning the division. They came ready and only managed to get a 2 point win on their home turf while Seattle had a bit of an off day.

Now the coaching staff could have very well called the game conservatively knowing that it would still give them a chance to win while protecting Wilson better. Make no mistake these games are physical and they would be looking to lay a hit on Wilson just as our guys would be looking for Kaepernick.

I'm disappointed in the loss but make no mistake we are still the best in the NFC and we are going to the Super Bowl.

 

[TwistedHusky]

Clearly the playcalling was an issue.

It was either sandbagging or it was choking.

Hopefully the former and not the latter, but in reality sandbagging was stupid. Winning the game would have put the 49ers in a spot where they might not even make the playoffs.

So the overly conservative playcalling screwed us, and we STILL lost an important piece to injury - KJ Wright.

I know the DC was stuck playing 3rd string corners, which hurt us, no matter how people want to spin how great Lane and Maxwell are. They are good and have really stood up for us, but they are nowhere near what Browner and Thurmond are. We don't lose that game with those guys in.

The OC however, screwed us. He just kept shoving a square peg into a round hole and expecting it to work even though it wasn't working the other times. Our run game was a disaster. Wilson might have bailed us out but we peed away down after down shoving the ball up the gut into the teeth of their defense.

It was one game, but it was a game that would have shattered the 49ers had we won. So yes, it was terminally stupid to sandbag (if that is what it was) or ridiculously conservative/borderline choking on the other level. And we still only lost by the slimmest of margins.

The Giants are a different thing though. They worry me and this team better wake up, stop talking about themselves and just do their jobs. It would be a shame to have all this hard work go to waste because they stumbled at the end.

 

[RiverDog]

Sand bagging? Not a chance. It was a bigger game for us than it was the Niners

Stop this right now.
If the Niners lose that game they're 8-5, the same as the Cardinals, only one better than the Cowboys, Lions and Bears.
Next week they have a game against a Bucs team that has won 4 of it's last 5 and took Seattle to overtime just prior to that run. Then they finish out against the Cardinals in Arizona, who would have faced off against a Seattle team with absolutely nothing to play for in the previous match - I'm not saying Seattle would mail in that game, but we saw what happened in the Rams game last year when we had nothing to play for. It's hard to motivate when the biggest thing in the back of the mind of the players isn't winning, but not getting injured prior to the playoffs.

Not to mention of course the fact that SF had been destroyed in their last 2 games against Seattle, and also lost all of their other games against playoff-bound teams. They needed this one just to tell themselves they were good enough.

Not in a lifetime of Sundays would this game have been bigger for Seattle. We have MADE the playoffs, even if we lose out we're still there. If SF had lost, they'd need to have won out to guarantee it (dependant on the results of other teams), and almost certainly would have been playing for the 6th seed, whereas now, with Carolina still to face the Saints again, they have a good shot at the 5th seed, not the biggest difference in the world, but could be the difference

I got it backwards, and didn't flesh out my thought. What I wanted to say was that it was a bigger game for the Niners than it was for us, but that it was still an extremely important game for us and that we would not 'sandbag' it.

Sorry about that.